For the positioning of pipelines intended to be submerged at the bottom of the sea, it has already been proposed to furnish these pipes, these being in themselves floatable or being so with the help of floats, with heavy chains distributed at different points. The chains impart a negative buoyancy the pipeline when it is away from the bottom. These chains act as guide ropes by arresting the descent of the pipeline from the moment where the more or less heavier part of the chains comes to rest on the sea bottom.
In this way, the stabilization of the pipeline can be achieved at a certain height above the bottom, thus facilitating certain positioning procedures. These procedures are used whether the pipeline is towed from its place of manufacture to where it is to be positioned, or whether the pipeline is submerged progressively from a barge which moves over the positioning path and on which the sections of the pipeline are progressively assembled. The problem in this latter case is to reduce the sagging of the chain when it arrives at the bottom.
Even by dragging on the bottom, the chains present only feeble resistance to the drifting of the pipeline caused by cross-currents.
The object of this invention is to provide means of arriving at similar results to those provided by chains, but which has the further advantage of permitting the counteracting of lateral displacements of the pipeline by the action of currents.